Arbor Day: Celebrating the Transition from Tree Planting to Tree Care

With Arbor Day coming up on April 25th, we have an opportunity to reflect not only on the history of this leafy holiday, but also on how TreePeople unites Angelinos for a greener, more sustainable future. Arbor Day began as a three-day celebration that involved planting trees, dancing, and feasts. Started by a local priest, and with support from the entire community, the very first Arbor Day was held in 1805 in the Spanish village of Villanueva de la Sierra.

For TreePeople, Arbor Day marks an important annual transition – the switch from tree planting to tree care.… Read more >>

Happy Earth Month: Tip #3 Plant a Native Garden

Happy Earth Week!

We celebrated Earth Day yesterday, and everywhere you look spring is in full bloom, which can only mean one thing: it’s Mother Nature’s time to shine!

To honor her and our planet, our founder Andy Lipkis is sharing some of his best simple sustainable solutions — from his home to yours — right here on our blog throughout April. Andy’s first tip was how and why to maintain your yard and garden with rain barrels; his second was filled with easy ways to make your sprinklers more efficient and, in the process, save time, energy, and money.… Read more >>

Happy Earth Month: Tip #2 Replace Your Sprinklers

Earlier this month we told you that in honor of Earth Day (April 22nd), we’d be sharing our founder Andy Lipkis’ simple sustainable suggestions — from his home to yours — right here on our blog throughout April. Last week we brought you Andy’s first tip: how and why to maintain your yard and garden with rain barrels.

Now it’s a fresh, new week and time for Andy’s second tip: Replace your sprinklers.

Why? Because chances are your sprinkler system isn’t running as efficiently as it could.… Read more >>

Where and How Do You Think LA Should Be Capturing Rainwater? Tell Us!

Last month, we blogged about our partnership with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create the first-ever Stormwater Capture Master Plan and the public meeting we co-hosted to get input on the plan from Angelinos.

We hope many of you were able to attend the meeting, but, for those of you who couldn’t, there’s still time to share your ideas for how and where we can capture more rainwater.

The LADWP understands that incorporating public opinion into our stormwater capture projects is crucial to the plan’s success.… Read more >>

Happy Earth Month: Tip #1 Stock Up On Rain

You’re probably well aware that April 22nd is Earth Day, but did you know that the entire month of April pays tribute to our planet?

Around here, we’re making it easier than ever to honor Mother Nature and grow a greener city. Starting right here, right now, each week we’ll offer a new simple sustainable suggestion from our founder Andy Lipkis, from his home to yours.

First up, Andy maintains his yard and vegetable garden with rain barrels. Why? Because in Los Angeles, only 10-15% of our water comes from groundwater.… Read more >>

Celebrating National Volunteer Week and YOU

Happy National Volunteer Week!

TreePeople is inspired by YOU, our incredible volunteers, every single day. Your motivation and enthusiasm for our work is humbling and we could not have the impact we have without your support. April 6th through the 12th is National Volunteer Week and a perfect opportunity to take a moment to reflect on the achievements we’ve been able to reach this year because of all your amazing help.

The beginning of 2014 marked the start of another round of events for our annual Fruit Tree Distribution Program.… Read more >>

UPDATE: Drought Response Forum

 
More than 100 Angelenos heard from speakers and engaged in conversations about how our city can learn from the lessons of Australia in weathering its recent 12-year drought and episodes of record-breaking heat. Much thanks to our speakers and co-sponsors Climate Resolve, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and our friends at Monash University in Australia for conducting — and sharing — groundbreaking research.
… Read more >>

TreePeople Leader Peter Diep Named National Urban Forestry 2013 Volunteer of the Year

Here at TreePeople we’re incredibly lucky to have the volunteers that we do, and we’re continuously amazed at how committed, enthusiastic, caring, and energetic our volunteer community is. We have many standout volunteers, and it’s always a privilege and a joy to honor them through our own Volunteer Appreciation events. But we’re especially proud that Peter Diep – TreePeople’s own 2012 Volunteer of the Year and 2013 Citizen Arborist of the Year – has been chosen as the Alliance for Community Trees 2013 National Volunteer of the Year.… Read more >>

Sustainable Spring! TreePeople’s 40th Birthday Bash, Garden Tours, DIY Workshops

Are you ready to spring into ACTION this spring? We are! And we’ve got some amazing new helpers, too: we’ve partnered with AltBuild, the Theodore Payne Foundation, Mar Vista’s Green Garden Showcase and the Water Wise Expo to bring you a whole season of learning and proactive events to save water, harvest rain, and transform L.A.’s landscape for sustainability. Here’s the full line up. We hope to see you there!

SUNDAY, MARCH 16

Although it’s already come and gone, we kicked off Sustainable Spring with The Water Wise Expo at The Mar Vista Farmers’ Market, and it was a roaring success!… Read more >>

Drought Response Park Tree Care Campaign: Help Trees Survive

Keeping our city’s trees alive is something TreePeople is addressing on many fronts. One major project is with the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, with whom we’ve been working closely for years. TreePeople and our volunteers regularly plant new trees and care for existing ones to improve our park tree canopy for generations to come. Now, though, the drought has our full attention, and we’re focused on ensuring that this generation of trees has enough water to survive these tough, dry conditions, especially with parks under severe water restrictions.… Read more >>